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Honey Butter: Combine butter and honey with a hand mixer, and eat on almost anything. Yum!

Yes, that’s actually how you make honey butter – at least, in its simplest form. But you’re not doing complete justice to this gift from the gods unless you take things a step or two further.

Here’s a detailed look at the mixture of two unbelievably yummy ingredients, and some of the many ways you can use it to spice up your meals.

Why Mix Honey and Butter?

No one needs to be told how delicious butter is, how useful it is when frying or sautéing at high heat, or that it’s the perfect spread for an enormous number of foods (it’s hard to imagine an ear of corn or baked potato without butter!).

Some basic nutrition facts are commonly known about butter as well. It’s high in calories and saturated fat, and it has been linked to increases in cholesterol. But most studies have shown that it’s perfectly healthy to eat butter in moderation, as one element of a balanced diet. In fact, butter is an excellent source of vitamin A and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which research shows may provide anti-cancer and weight management benefits.

In short, just about everyone loves butter, and it’s fine to eat in moderation.

Honey, of course, is also delicious – and there’s no debate about its health benefits. Raw honey is rich in antioxidants, it effectively fights many strains of bacteria and fungi, it boosts the immune system, and it promotes heart health in a variety of ways. It’s often said that natural raw honey is among the world’s healthiest ingredients.

So by definition, honey butter is good for you, at least in moderation (and most versions are gluten-free as well). But the #1 reason to mix these two luscious ingredients has little to do with your health.

It’s because honey butter tastes so amazingly good.

Honey Butter Recipes

We were somewhat serious when we gave you this recipe at the start of this article:

Honey Butter: Combine butter and honey with a hand mixer, and eat on almost anything. Yum!

That’s because following those instructions will let you make the simplest version of this compound butter; it’s basically the recipe that the huge food manufacturer Pillsbury (now owned by General Mills) offers website visitors, telling them how to make honey butter to slather on Pillsbury’s world-famous dinner rolls and buttermilk biscuits:

In small bowl, combine ½ cup butter (softened) and ¼ cup honey. Beat at high speed until light and fluffy. (1)

That has to be at least a nominee in the Guinness Book’s “easy recipes” category. But with a little extra effort, or extra care in choosing ingredients, you can make versions of honey butter that are even more delicious.

Here’s one for a light, silky homemade honey butter that’s perfect for waffles, French toast or English muffins (2):

Whip on high speed with the mixer’s whisk attachment until smooth and completely combined.

Serve. Refrigerate leftover butter for later use.

Be sure to use softened butter, because it’s easy to mix but still holds its shape.

The restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse is well-known for its very sweet, very yummy cinnamon honey butter. Epicurious managed to come up with the recipe, and it’s easy to understand why this version of honey butter is so addicting.

Scrape sides of bowl and whip for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. (3)

Here’s a similar cinnamon honey butter recipe from the Food Network’s Alton Brown, who uses vanilla instead of powdered sugar. The other cool twist is the presentation; the compound butter is formed into a log, so it can be served to a group for brunch or dinner.

Cut 1 pound of butter into chunks using a dough scraper.

Beat butter until loose, at low speed in a stand mixer with whisk attachment.

Spoon butter onto parchment paper or plastic wrap, roll into a log and refrigerate for two hours before serving. (4)

As you can see, the prep time for any version of luscious honey butter is well under ten minutes. Even if you want to present it as a showstopper at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, the total time it takes to re-refrigerate the butter is only a couple of hours.

Most honey butter recipes call for salted butter, because it accentuates both the butter and honey flavors. A few even suggest adding a little extra sea salt for the same sweet/savory balance that sea salt can bring to caramel or chocolate.

The “usual” ways to serve honey butter are to accompany breads (try it on cornbread – it’s yummy!), as a topping on breakfast and brunch foods, or as a drizzle on Southern fried chicken. Those are far from the only ways, though.

Cool Ideas for Using Honey Butter

Appetizers:

Sweet chicken wings with melted honey butter glaze

Crudités with dip made from mustard, mayo, lemon juice and honey mustard

Grilled shrimp and/or scallops basted with honey butter (can also be served in casserole form as a main dish)

Side Dishes:

Boiled corn on the cob, bathed in honey butter and red pepper flakes before serving

For more recipes and serving ideas (one we found was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but substituting honey butter for the jelly), just spend a few minutes on Pinterest using the hashtag #honeybutter. And if you don’t have a mixer or whisk (or are a stranger to the kitchen), many specialty stores and websites sell honey butter in their condiments section.